15 Opening Sentences
Idea shamelessly stolen from Bre (and you should go look at her picks, because they’re great).
Hunter’s Oath, by Michelle West
“A near skeletal boy peeked out from around a shadowed corner.”
So few people know if this pair of books (the second is Hunter’s Death). One of the best epic fantasies I’ve ever read, with so many gorgeous things that I love. Evayne, who is still the best and most tragic time-travelling character I know (well, excepting perhaps the Doctor). The dogs. The streetrat girl who became so very important. The thief, torn from his goddess. The brash hunter and his soft-speaking companion. I love them all.
The Gandalara Cycle, by Randall Garrett and Vicki Ann Heydron
“You understand what you must do.”
Another little-known and out of print series. This one taught me that “fantasy” wasn’t all swords and sorcery, and took me on a desert journey that turned my understanding of epic fantasy upside down. Also? Giant telepathic saber-toothed lions ridden by the characters. Win.
Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey
“A gentle breeze rustled the leaves of the tree, but the young girl seated beneath it did not seem to notice.”
A book that found me at the exact and precise moment I needed it to. A book about a shy, sweet, emotional girl who loved to read being whisked away to become so important that she saved her kingdom? I can’t imagine why I loved it so much. *wink*
Summon the Keeper by Tanya Huff
“When the storm broke, rain pounding down in great sheets out of a black and unforgiving sky, Claire Hansen had to admit she wasn’t surprised; it had been that kind of evening.”
The first book that taught me just how funny a fantasy could be and reminded me that not all stories were EPIC fantasy. Some of them had fun, too. I wish I liked the main character a little more, but the side characters were just lovely, from the cat to the French ghost to the clean-obsessed man to Hell in the basement. (Hell talks to itself.)
The Wee Free Men, by Terry Pratchett
“Some things start before other things.”
The book that reminded adult me that YA books were still amazing and worth reading. Tiffany Aching is young, but so incredibly pragmatic that I can’t help but love her. From the moment she used her baby brother as bait so that she could use a frying pan to attack a dangerous water spirit, I knew I wasn’t going to put that book down till I was done with it.
Dealing With Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
“Linderwall was a large kingdom, just east of the Mountains of Morning, where philosophers were highly respected and the number five was fashionable.”
I found these books early, then re-found them again as an adult. Fairy tale tropes turned on their ear and a female protagonist who was not only intelligent and self-sufficient, she knew what she wanted and she went for it. I fell in love, not just with these stories, but with this author’s remarkable voice.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide To the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
“Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.”
When Steven and I met, he only read comic books. I gave him this book, and he became a Reader. What more can you possibly ask of any novel than that?
Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon and The Callahan Touch by Spider Robinson
“Callahan’s Place was pretty lively that night.”
and
“Opposites make good companions sometimes.”
Two quotes/books provided because I believe The Callahan Touch is one of the best books ever written, while Steven prefers the first and original book. These books changed the way I view the world and made me want to be a better person. I love the entire Callahan Series with all my heart, and have loaned and lost more copies of The Callahan Touch than I care to admit. I figure the people who kept them needed them more than me.
Amazon Link (for Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon)
Amazon Link (for The Callahan Touch)
Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton
“Willie McCoy had been a jerk before he died.”
Say what you will about the later novels of Hamilton, she made me want to read MORE. I love the characters, the style, and the wry humor, even if she managed to drive even me away a few years ago. Her first Anita Blake novels are still favorites of mine (everything up to and pinnacling (is that a word) with Obsidian Butterfly).
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
“Once upon a time when the world was young there was a Martian named Smith.”
One of Steven’s favorites, and a book that touched me deeply as well, this is a sci-fi tale of a human born amongst Martians, and his unique adult perspective on humanity as he tried to adjust to life on Earth. Better than that synopsis sounds, this book is exciting and heartbreaking and wonderful and thought-provoking.
Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield
“I had always wondered what it felt like to die.”
(actually, that’s the first line of the main character’s voice. The actual first line details the geneology of the Persian king, and I didn’t want to type all that.)
Gates of Fire was the first audio book I ever listened to, and it is BREATHTAKING. This historical re-telling of the battle of Thermopylae is one of the most heart-wrenching, heart-stopping, heart-pounding (and other things to do with the heart organ) books that I have ever encountered.
Last of the Breed by Louis L’Amour
“Major Joe Makatozie stepped into the sunlight of a late afternoon.”
“What is this”, you ask incredulously. “Is this … Tami admitting to reading something that isn’t fantasy?” Why yes, yes it is. This is a no-longer-modern-day story of a pilot captured by Soviet Russia … who escapes and uses his Native American skills to not only survive, but gain the upper hand on his previous captors. Superbly written survival fiction.
(And Now For Some Shameless Self-Promotion)
Choose: The Search For a Captain
“Lady Remora Windgates Price perched uncomfortably on the edge of the dirty bar stool and wondered if perhaps now was an appropriate time to belch.”
The Taxidermist
“Seated at his workbench, the taxidermist contemplated the bottled banshee scream in his shaking hands.”
Love’s Champion
“Riding a dragon was nothing at all like riding a horse.”
My most recent short story, currently up for critique with my writing group, Saucy Ink. Will be part of the next short story collection, and is not currently available.
34 Comments
UGH I had to add 9 more books to my shelfari ‘planning to read’ list. it’s now up to 135. and I haven’t even gone over to Bre’s list yet.
DARN YOU!
Meep!
Time to get that library card polished up!
OH. And the Enchanted Forest Chronicles would be my first pick for you to read, Kristen. I ADORE them, and I think you will too.
Err… Enchanted Forest = Dealing With Dragons. *sheepish*
I’ve already read the trilogy. (oodles of fun), so it’s the rest of them!
“The building was on fire and it wasn’t my fault.”
-Blood Rites by Jim Butcher
*laugh* No fair not quoting the first book!!
(I do have the second one waiting for me to get it from the library!)
(Also? GREAT first line!)
Hey…whatever good things the first book did for the series, I don’t remember the first line from it.
I DO remember the first line from Blood Rites just because it made me laugh out loud and get strange looks >.>”
Oh, also?
“The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed.”
<3
phew. ony 5 added from Bre’s list. 140 to go! (not counting the 3 i have from the library right now)
*grin*
Hmm. I’ve read some of those but the rest will have to be investigated!
“The man who was not Terrence O’Grady had come quietly.”
- Agent of Change by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
(republished in the omnibus The Agent Gambit)
The entire Liaden Universe collection is wonderful!
I’m not familiar with that. What’s the book about?
It’s space opera. Don’t let that put you off!
The opening line from “Choose” is one of my all-time openers, ever. In any genre.
My submission: “He’s a Mad Scientist and I’m his Beautiful Daughter.” – Robert A. Heinlein, The Number of the Beast.
Gratuitous comment because I forgot to check the box for comment notification.
Oooh, that’s a Heinlein I actually haven’t read yet!
The first hundred pages or so (and of those, the first chapter), are my favorites of all time, all authors, all genres. I’ve read the book twice, and it’s on my “to-read” list once more. I think the last time I read it was over 20 years ago.
(I very rarely re-read books. There were some Zane Greys of my mother’s that I read a dozen times each in junior and senior high school, and most of the Dragonriders of Pern series I’ve read twice.)
Also, “Glory Road” (by Heinlein) has a great hook: “I know a place where there is no smog and no parking problem and no population explosion… no Cold War and no H-bombs and no television commercials… no Summit Conferences, no Foreign Aid, no hidden taxes – no income tax.”
Another I need to re-read (along with SIASL).
That was one of my favorites growing up!
Dad is a member of the SciFi book club and I devoured his library as soon as I was able to read. It did wonders for my vocabulary….
I have to admit, I was initially put off Summon the Keeper because of the HORRIBLE cover art. I mean, I had friends telling me “no really, read this book” for a year before I could put aside my wtf-floaty-eyes-and-cat kneejerk reaction.
And I have to say… I’m not certain it was the first sentence, but it was DEFINITELY the first paragraph that snagged me. Pity that only the second in the series is as good. The third really disappointed me, which sucks because I love Diana in the first two books. All of Claire’s family, for that matter…
“I wish you wouldn’t wear socks with sandals, mom, it makes you look like an aging hippie.”
“Truth in advertising, dear. Besides it’s too cold to wear either one alone.”
*laugh*
I grew up in Half Price Books, where cover art is firmly stuck in the 70′s. I thought the cat was at least moderately well done.
I totally agree on the other books in the series, BUT I’ve read other stuff by that author and have a similar hit/miss rate. I LOVE her writing style, but sometimes her stories ramble a bit much for me.
“Through the fence, between the curling flower spaces, I could see them hitting.”
The Sound and The Fury, William Faulkner
“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
Anna Karenina,Leo Tolstoy
“These two very old people are the father and mother of Mr Bucket.”
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
My final paper in high school was on The Sound and the Fury.
I like that opening line from Tolstoy.
I also like the opening for Matilda, but could not find our copy. I could have probably googled it, but I had more fun roaming the house and finding favorite books and seeing if I really liked the first sentence. The opening for To Kill a Mockingbird did not pass muster….what a pity.
I love William Faulkner and The Sound and The Fury is one of my favorites.
Duly noted that my literary preferences lean toward the tragedy of the human condition, while yours are much more light-hearted and fanciful. Tolstoy is great with the tragedy of the human condition.
*laugh* There are not enough happy talking piglets in either Tolstoy OR Faulkner for my liking. ^_^
Jessica and I were perusing your “Writing Inspiration” Pinterests the other day. There were many pictures that we loved, and we discussed how they could be used for writing or telling part of a story (as Jessica asked why you had labelled that category as such). I promised her we would go back someday and try to tell a story about some of the pictures, and she kind of laughed at me. “These are not really the kinds of stories you like, are they, Mom?”
“Not to worry. I will find my way and put math into these stories SOMEHOW!!”
*laugh* <3
Have you guys played a game called Dixit?
We tried it out yesterday and really enjoyed it. Simple, large-group-friendly game with oversized cards. Each card has some pretty (but typically strange) art on it.
The person whose turn it is picks a card, then says aloud a clue to the image on the card. The other players pick a card from their own hand which matches the clue, then all cards are randomized and laid out. Players vote on which they think was the original card. Points are given for "perfect" clues – ones which resulted in both hits and misses. Points are also given for being the person whose wrong card was chosen.
Clues can be anything – lines of poetry, words, ideas, emotions.
It was surprisingly fun to play.
http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/39856/dixit
Yeah! A new game! Thanks! I will venture forth and find it.
By the way, Jessica has been gone part of this week. She and her father are in Kansas for an unplanned vacation. Bob’s Aunt Irene did not reach her 101st birthday. So they left early on the 4th, which meant that there was no reason for Nick to come back from his trek to the coast, so he spent the 4th in Galveston. My biggest issue?? That my meal planning for a holiday week went out the window!! All those fresh berries!!
Fresh berries NEVER go to waste. OM NOM.
Hooray for a semi-quiet household for Anne?
Love’s Champion is awesome.
“Who is John Galt?” – Atlas Shurgged
I read this book between m senior year in High School and Freshmen year in college. It is epic, and crystallized my thinking on my issues.
“I never liked jazz music because jazz music didn’t resolve.” – Blue Like Jazz
I loved Blue Like Jazz. It was like someone telling me all those thoughts I had in my head were normal.
“Rayford Steele’s mind was on a woman he had never touched” – Left Behind
I really enjoyed the entire Left Behind series. Like Atlas Shrugged, it crystallized my thinking on many issues.
I gravitate more towards stories that entertain me consistently rather than those that teach me something … but I love the ones that do both. (I feel that way about Gates of Fire, for example)
That makes total sense. Actually I didn’t really pick up either Left Behind or Atlas Shrugged with the idea I was going to learn something, but I became engrossed in the story of both books. I remember caring deeply what happened to the characters as I read (and Atlas Shrugged is not a small book). They ended having a profound impact on my thinking.
BLJ was more a collection of essays than a novel, so that was more ‘intellectual’ reading if I can use the phrase.
[...] stolen from Tami and [...]